Associate Professor (Honorary) Cris Brack, a forestry expert from the Australian National University, has completed his second review of the processes and outcomes of human-induced regeneration (HIR) project gateway checks.
Assoc Prof Brack found that independent audit reports and our assessments continue to provide strong assurance that projects are being managed properly.
The review provides further confidence in the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme and the integrity of the HIR project portfolio.
The review looked at 18 projects that underwent gateway checks following the release of the new HIR gateway audit guidelines (PDF 695KB). This includes a requirement for projects to undergo section 215 audits. These are additional audits funded by us to ensure gateway checks comply with legislative requirements.
Similar to the first review (PDF 948), Assoc Prof Brack reviewed:
- geospatial data
- our assessment of the gateway checks
- projects’ offsets reports and supporting evidence, including high-resolution imagery and in situ georeferenced data
- reasonable assurance audit reports (including for section 215 audits) from independent auditors.
As part of the second review, Prof Brack also accompanied independent audit teams on their inspections of several Western Australia projects.
Assoc Prof Brack said the results confirm the conclusions from the first review that no single national-scale model is well suited to making estimates of canopy cover or cover change for these projects. On-site measurements and georeferenced photography are also required for accuracy in measurement.
HIR projects must undergo regular gateway checks to demonstrate that only land progressing towards forest cover is being issued ACCUs. Assoc Prof Brack conducts regular 6 monthly reviews to provide additional assurance on the integrity and performance of these checks.
Read Assoc Prof Brack’s latest independent review report of HIR gateway checks.